9 Ways Over 50 Dating Sites Differ From Their All Ages Counterparts

There are dating sites for every need, but over 50 daters are a special breed. Before joining a dating site, they need to make sure the site can meet the specific needs of their age group.

 “Age gives us experience and in many cases that means more wisdom,” says Rosalind Sedacca, a dating and relationship coach and dating in mid-life mentor.  “Connecting with a dating site for an over 50 age group means we don’t have to play games with age and aging. Visitors to these sites are usually more comfortable with themselves, their age and less likely to pretend they’re younger or being judgmental about age.” 

Still on the fence about finding love online on an over 50 dating site? Here are more reasons on why they’re different and can be more successful for older daters than those dating sites that cater to all ages.    

1. There’s more emphasis on what matters.
“Things like experience, expertise, integrity, shared values, etc.,” says Sedacca. “Over 50 daters have a more mature mindset and are less focused on physicality and more focused on mutual values, beliefs and characteristics that matter.” 

2. More focus on communication and shared company.
“Dating over 50 is about friendship and togetherness, humor, and living in the present,” says Sedacca.  

3. You’ll have more peace of mind.
“You’re surrounded by your peers,” says professional dating profile writer, Eric Resnick.  “Online dating can be stressful and knowing that you are fishing in a pond that is filled entirely with singles who are at the same place in their life as you can take a lot of that pressure away.” 

4.  There is more emphasis on the profile. 
“All-ages sites (and especially apps) tend to put more emphasis on instant attraction while over 50 sites offer people a chance to speak more about themselves and what they are looking for. This you a lot more control over your personal dating success,” says Resnick.   

5. People know what they want.
“A lot of the people on all-ages dating sites are still figuring themselves out. However, once you’ve made the decision to join a dating site for 50+ singles, you know what you want from your partner and your relationship. In general, the people using 50+ dating sites tend to have a higher level of relationship intent,” says Resnick.  

6. It’s much easier to find singles over 65. 
While a lot of singles in their 50s are still using all-age dating sites, those sites can be a virtual desert when it comes to finding singles between 65 and 80, explains Resnick.  “If that’s the age-group you are searching within, you will have much better success on a 50+ site.” 

7. The concepts are similar but 50+ sites blend in realities for that age group.
“For example, at a certain point, a lot of women become a little gun shy of an intrusive overture by someone they have never met. Call it a culmination of years of suffering micro (and some major) aggressions, but sites that allow women to make the first move or to control the conversation a little, for their own safety, are making headway with the over 50 crowd,” says online dating expert and COO of BeenVerified, Justin Lavelle.

8. The questions and matching algorithms on an over 50 site are better suited to them.
This includes 50+ interests, pursuits, and lifestyles of a person who has lived some life already and likely has some baggage.  “Whether or not a person has kids, a divorce or two behind them, aging parents, or a changing work situation: all of these can affect the dating process and over 50 sites can better recognize them in the personal preferences and search settings that the site offers the user,” says Lavelle. 

9.  The sites are more simplified.
“The idea of online dating, for someone over 50, can be daunting:  that’s not how dating was done when we were starting out in our 20s! For many over 50, it’s been years, even decades, since they ‘dated’. The creation of simple interfaces, easy to answer matching questions and plenty of information on dating safely and the general rules of romance in the 21st century are all part of the user experience on a 50+ site that might be superfluous on an app designed for 20 year olds,” says Lavelle.